Changing Your Lens: What the Northern Lights Taught Me About Core Beliefs

A few nights ago, the northern lights danced across our sky, and I sat with my phone, trying to capture their beauty. But my photos looked dark, barely showing the greens and purples I could see with my own eyes.

Then someone told me something simple: “Try changing this setting on your phone.”

 With one adjustment to my camera’s night mode, everything transformed. Suddenly, the same sky blazed with vibrant colors. The aurora that had appeared faint and muted now glowed with so many colours on my screen. The lights hadn’t changed. The sky was the same. But my lens had changed everything.

 The Therapy Connection

 As I looked at those two sets of photos—one dim, one radiant—I couldn’t help but think about the work I do in therapy around core beliefs. Because this is kinda like how our minds work.

 Core beliefs are the lens through which we view our entire world. They’re the deep-seated beliefs we hold about ourselves, others, and life itself. And just like my phone’s camera settings, they dramatically alter what we see—even when we’re looking at the same reality.

 When I carry a core belief like “I’m not good enough,” it’s like having my camera stuck on the wrong setting. Every experience gets filtered through that lens:

 - A friend doesn’t text back → “They realized I’m not worth their time”

- I make a mistake at work → “This proves I’m incompetent”

- Someone compliments me → “They’re just being nice; they don’t mean it”

 The world I experience through this lens feels darker and more evidence of my inadequacy. But here’s what’s important to understand: the world hasn’t changed. My lens has colored everything

Adjusting the Settings

 The good news? Just like I could change my camera settings, we can learn to look through a different lens.

 This doesn’t mean forcing yourself to “think positive” or denying real difficulties. It means recognizing that your current lens might not be showing you an accurate picture. It means being willing to adjust your settings and see what else might be true.

 What if that friend didn’t text back because they’re overwhelmed with their own life?

 What if that mistake at work is just part of being human and learning?

 What if that compliment is genuine?

 Through a different lens, such as one of self-compassion, or one that whispers “I am enough”, the same experiences create a completely different picture. Not because I’m delusional or ignoring reality, but because I’m finally seeing what was always there.

The Practice

 Shifting our core beliefs isn’t as instant as tapping a button on your phone. It takes practice, patience, and often the help of a skilled therapist. But it is possible.

 The first step is simply noticing: What lens am I looking through right now? What belief is filtering this experience?

 Then, with curiosity rather than judgment, we can ask: What else might be true? What would I see through a different lens?

 Those northern lights were always brilliant. Sometimes we just need to adjust our settings to see the beauty that’s been there all along.

What lens are you looking through today?

 **Disclaimer:** This post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment. If you’re struggling with negative core beliefs or other mental health concerns, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional.